Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the field of photonic biosensing and, more specifically, to photonic biosensors using semiconductor microstructures.
Description of the Related Art
The need to detect rapidly and with high sensitivity different pathogenic bacteria is highly in demand by the biological research community. Conventional methods of detection of bacteria involving incubation are relatively labour intensive. The culture-based methods take at least twelve hours because they are based on the growth of bacteria to multiply to visible colonies. More rapid detection methods, such as those based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) effect, are relatively difficult to automate and they require the presence of highly qualified personnel for both data collection and interpretation. The automated and sensitive detection of bacteria at attractive cost has challenged researchers and is the subject of a continuous investigation that also addresses improved methods of phenotypic assay procedures used in the pharmaceutical field.